“Curtains” starts with a bang. In “Wide
Open Spaces,” we’re
supposedly in the midst of the Boston tryout of a musical comedy titled “Robin
Hood of the Old West.” While the chorus works its butts off, the leading
lady is such a disaster that her murder is a blessing. It’s a funny
scene.

Not only
is the company now faced with a whodunit, but they may soon be out of a job
if no replacement is found. Enter Boston police detective and musical comedy
buff Frank Cioffi. Not only will our hero find the murderer but he’ll
fix the ailing show. (Maybe he should have started with “Curtains” itself.)

One
major problem is the lack of character development. Sure, it’s a musical
comedy, not Shakespeare. Yet, despite lots of running around, everything
seems to stand still and except for having the crime solved, we know little
more at the end than we did at the beginning. The action just drifts, as
in the endless Act One finale, “Thataway.”

To
be sure, the score by John Kander and Fred Ebb (also the team responsible
for “All
About Us” at the Westport Country Playhouse) has its inspired moments. “Show
People” is a rousing tribute to you-know-who, while “What Kind
of Man” is an amusing stab at critics. (“Who could be jerk enough
/ Hard up enough / To want a job like that?”)

Then there’s the
plaintive “I Miss the Music,” a heartfelt
Kander tribute to his deceased partner, Ebb. (“I miss the music / I
miss my friend.”)

Act
Two is marginally better, although the joke level is no higher. (Example: “The
reason you’re such a low life is because you’re built so close
to the ground.”) And the construction of the Rupert Holmes/Peter Stone
libretto is unwieldy. Most puzzling is an anti-climactic scene between the
detective and the producer that comes off more as an after-thought than integral
to the show.

That
the detective is played by an ingratiating David Hyde Pierce and the producer
by the formidable Debra Monk is a plus. As the acerbic show-within-the-show
director Edward Hibbert does a great Bette Davis imitation, walking off with
his every scene. Also top-notch are Karen Ziemba, Jason Danieley, Noah Racey
and Jill Paice.

Rob
Ashford’s choreography includes a giddy Agnes De Mille takeoff, while
director Scott Ellis works hard to inject life into what is essentially an
unnecessary musical.